title: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival in Beirut, Lebanon.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is used to evaluate the performance of the emergency medical service (EMS) system. Our study examined the characteristics and outcomes of OHCA cases presenting to a tertiary care center in Beirut, Lebanon.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review of all adult OHCA patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) over a 3-year period was carried out. Data collection and analysis was performed using the Utstein guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 214 OHCA patients were presumed to have cardiac etiology; of them 205 (95.8%) underwent ED resuscitation. The mean age was 69±15.4 years. More than half of the patients (54.2%) were witnessed, but unfortunately the bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation rate was low (4.2%). Most of them were transported by EMS (71.5%). An automatic external defibrillator was rarely used (0.9%). Asystole was the predominant presenting rhythm in ED (81.8%). Eleven patients (5.5%) survived to hospital discharge and five (45.4%) had good neurological outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The OHCA survival rate in Beirut, Lebanon, is low. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation should be prioritized to achieve better outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Departments of aEmergency Medicine bInternal Medicine cEmergency Medical Services and Prehospital Care Program, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Mazen J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: El Sayed
authors.forename: Hani
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tamim
authors.forename: Zeina
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nasreddine
authors.forename: Maggy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dishjekenian
authors.forename: Amin A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kazzi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D058687:Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D012151:Resuscitation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis